Runaway baboon captured in New Jersey after 'escape from Six Flags safari park'

A wayward baboon that apparently escaped from an amusement park and became a mini-celebrity was captured today after spending three days on the lam.

The animal appeared to be unharmed when it was found and tranquillized at a farm in Howell Township, in southern New Jersey.

The farm isn't far from Six Flags Great Adventure's Monkey Jungle in Jackson Township, which has about 150 baboons that are part of a drive-through safari.

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Eyes and teeth: An olive baboon similar to the animal roamed the New Jersey countryside for three days

Park officials confirmed the capture
and said they believed the animal was theirs. But they won't know for
sure until it's assessed and they can see if it has a microchip that's
embedded in all their baboons.

Numerous online followers tracked the
baboon's travels after it initially was spotted Thursday. Many posted
on a tongue-in-cheek Twitter account created by a person posing as the
baboon.

Park spokeswoman Kristin Siebeneicher
said the baboon, which appeared to be an adolescent, would be taken to
the park for a physical exam and health assessment.

She said all of Great Adventure's
baboons are vaccinated, fenced in and implanted with microchips beneath
their skin, but they are not counted daily because they sleep outside in
the Monkey Jungle preserve.

Missing your buddy? A baboon in the Six Flags Great Adventure park after the escape

Pining? A baboon sits by the high chain link fence, topped with sheet metal at the park, left, while right, a man takes a good look at the fence

And if it turns out that it was one
of their baboons that escaped, park officials want to know how it got
out because they have found no signs that an escape occurred.

The entire wildlife section is enclosed by a high chain link fence, topped with sheet metal.

The baboons are contained in a separate area enclosed by another chain link fence, topped by electrically charged wire.

About
150 baboons live at the park but they are not routinely counted
because, unlike other animals there, they do not come inside at night,
the spokesman said.

Jokers: At least two fake Twitter accounts have already been set up for the missing primate

Police and park officials had been
looking for the baboon since Thursday afternoon, after a driver saw it
near Interstate 195, not far from the park in Ocean County.

A short time later, a woman reported that the baboon was sitting on her back porch.

Several sightings were then reported
in nearby residential areas on Friday, and officials thought they
finally had the baboon cornered in a tree at a local golf course on late
Friday afternoon.

But an attempt to shoot a tranquillizer dart at it failed, and it ran off into the woods.

Officials had said the baboon didn't
pose a threat to residents but as a precaution warned them not to
approach it if they encountered it. They believed the animal was
frightened and was just trying to find its way back home.

An olive baboon can roam ten miles a day, typically in the day. It then sleeps in high trees or on the side of cliffs at night.

Baboons are naturally social creatures and are 'typically not aggressive toward people,' the spokesman said.

And like the infamous Bronx Zoo cobra, who amassed more than 230,000 Twitter followers in the week it was missing earlier this year, the baboon already has two fake accounts to its name.

@BaboonOnTheRun had 160 followers at the time of going to press but nosing in front was @NewJerseyBaboon with 1,128 followers.